The continued scaling of electronic integrated circuits (ICs) will at some point cause industry to transition certain electronic computation and communication operations to equivalent photonic systems in order to mitigate thermal management and signal latency concerns. Integrated photonics is concerned with developing the materials, devices, and systems necessary for the manipulation of optical signals and energy within waveguide networks. This term is generally used to highlight the distinction between integrated photonic circuits relative to other common form factors for optical devices (free space beams, fiber optics, etc.) The phrase is a deliberate analogy to the name given to the parallel discipline of integrated electronics and electronic integrated circuits (ICs), the design concept and material systems that have enabled decades of successful scaling of size, power, and cost of components for electronic signal processing.
One of the prime technical drivers for photonic integration has been tele- and data-communications. Long-range communications have used optical links for many years, taking advantage of high bandwidth and low propagation loss relative to electronic links. However, to date, electronics have still proven to be the superior choice for high-density computation, since electronic signal processing components are ultra-compact (e.g., a single transistor device is about ten nanometers), utilize low power, and are nonlinear. This tension between two technology solutions with distinct strengths and weaknesses has led to a proliferation of hybrid optoelectronic systems for computing, data, and telecom infrastructure. Due to the ubiquity, utility, and commercial importance of such systems there is demand for technology that impacts this space including optical sources, detectors, modulators, switches, isolators, and so forth.